A Melbourne dentist has denied deceiving the public, after her clinic was found to be receiving glowing five-star online reviews from patients that likely do not exist.
it eats like this A Current Affair can reveal the extent that consumers are being fooled by bogus testimonials.
Whether you are hiring a plumber, booking a restaurant or looking for a doctor, chances are you have first checked out the online reviews.
READMORE: Aussie families get back to basics amid cost of living pressures
Related Clips
But according to analysis from the World Economic Forum, Australians splurge around $900 million per year on online products and services that are influenced by fake reviews.
Kay Dean, a former United States federal investigator turned online detective, linkend online reviews to the “wild west” where there was “no Sheriff.”
After her own experience with a dodgy medical practice, Dean set up the Fake Review Watch YouTube channel, where she calls out the unscrupulous practice.
To illustrate how it works, Dean found a dental clinic in Melbourne’s CBD with a five-star Google review based on more than 1300 reviews.
One apparent patient of Gorgeous Smiles Dental, “Joan Milstead”, uses a photo of a man on her Google account.
Publicly-available information on the Google profile reveals around the same time “Joan” also left a review for a door shop in Los Angeles.
A week later the same account reviewed an Indian restaurant in Canada, and then a convenience store in Paris.
A reviewed spreadsheet compiled by Dean revealed out of 32 recent Gorgeous Smiles reviewers, 21 of those, including “Joan”, also the same car yard in the US state of Illinois.
READMORE: Aussie couple reveals unique retirement plan
Eight reviewed the same construction business in Pakistan, while seven apparently dined at the same restaurant in London.
“It’s very, very suspicious,” Dean said.
In an interview with A Current AffairGorgeous Smiles principal dentist Dr Minoo Ghamari denied ever purchasing online reviews and claimed blackmailers may be responsible, to try and discredit her business.
Following a five-start review from a supposed patient who claimed to have broken a tooth on the weekend, the clinic replied online: “We’re so glad that you had (sic) been satisfied with our service.”
When asked about this, Dr Ghamari said it was one of her patients she “squeezed” in herself.
READMORE: US study’s Vitamin D claims prompt debate
But when pressed about why the account, using a photo of Scottish actor Gerard Butler, was also reviewing businesses on the other side of the world, Dr Ghamari said she didn’t “remember him by name because he wasn’t my patient”.
Since Dean exposed the clinic’s issues and following further questions from A Current Affair, hundreds of reviews have disappeared from the Gorgeous Smiles Google page.
Social media giants not doing enough
“I’m a single investigator using no automation and the amount of fraud I’m finding is just shocking,” Dean said.
The former US investigator took aim at the social media giants for not doing enough to self-police their platforms.
google told A Current Affair it last year removed more than 95 million policy-violating reviews.
“Our automated systems and trained operators work around the clock to monitor for suspicious behavior,” it said.
A quick search on Facebook revealed a number of groups selling, buying and trading fraudulent reviews.
Facebook ignored multiple requests for comment.
Right now, if Google takes down phoney reviews from a business’ page, consumers would have no idea.
That’s something Dean wants to change, urging the social media giant to place a disclaimer on accounts that have had reviews removed.
Consumer watchdog cracking down on fakes
In a statement to A Current Affair, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was illegal for businesses to mislead consumers.
“Manipulative or deceptive advertising and marketing practices in the digital economy” was a “key priority” for the watchdog over the coming year, it said.
The regulator said it would focus its compliance efforts on businesses that manipulated online reviews to convey a false impression about them or their competitors, third parties such as marketing companies engaged in the misconduct as well as looking at the role of online platforms and review sites in preventing and removing fake reviews.
The ACCC pointed to court action it had previously taken against businesses, including online marketplace HealthEngine.
It was ordered to pay $2.9 million for misleading patient reviews and patient referrals.
when A Current Affair notified medical regulator AHPRA of the Melbourne’s dentist’s fake reviews, a spokesperson said laws prohibited it from commenting about specific cases but illegitimate health reviews could “cause harm to the public if it results in poorly informed healthcare choices”.
“This conduct may be grounds for disciplinary action in relation to a practitioner’s registration such as placing conditions on their registration to prohibit all advertising,” the spokesperson said.
How to spot a fake review
According to experts and consumer authorities A Current Affair you have spoken to, consumers should be wary of reviews that:
-
Criticize a product or business while promoting another
-
Feature the same testimonial multiple times or under different names
-
Are posted by “professional reviewers”, including those who review many businesses from different parts of the world
-
Sound like advertising or use words consumers would not usually use
-
Use celebrity or stock images
-
Are extremely positive or extremely negative
-
Are posted in quick succession
Dean said until consumer protection authorities took the issue seriously, it was buyer beware.
“My advice to consumers is actually to disregard online reviews all together,” Dean said.
READMORE: American billionaire Jeff Bezo’s new challenge
